Of Magic and Steel
by Hokuto Ulrik
Summary: When his world ends in a flash of nuclear hellfire, Talisman Stryke is cast through the void between worlds where he gains abilities and items from a host of other worlds. The gifts from Fate will allow him to protect those that he will come to care for, but it will also make him many enemies along the way. HiE
1. The Interview

_**Of Magic and Steel**_

_The Interview_

"So you want to know my story Ms…?" I asked the mare that was sitting in front of the fireplace in my den.

"Inkwell sir, and yes I would like to know your story, as would most of Equestria. The Princesses have been quite vague on the details concerning your arrival in our world." She replied as she levitated her pen and notepad in a telekinetic field. "They insist that it is not their story to tell."

"Well, Ms Inkwell they would be correct." I respond as I make my way into the seating area with a tray of tea as I chuckle about the Princesses' response to any inquiries about my past. Hard to believe that the elder one dislikes me something fierce. Hopefully this interview will keep most of the curious away and I can have some peace and quiet outside of the occasional rouge beastie from the Everfree. I set the tray down on the table between the two chairs in front of the fire as I inform her, "All I have is jasmine, I do hope that's alright with you."

She gave a charming smile. "It is. Jasmine happens to be one of my favorites. Helps me relax after a long day."

"That's good, because there will be parts of my story that are…quite disturbing truthfully. Even for all of their millennia of experience the Princesses were pretty shaken by the history of my people. Most of it, I think that Celestia would prefer to forget." I reply as I pour a cup for the beige unicorn anthro across from me.

"Why is that?" Inkwell asked as she took the cup and saucer in her hands while her pen danced across the page in the grip of her blue-tinted magic.

"Well for starters my species, humankind, was rather violent. There was hardly a bit of the planet that hadn't been stained by blood or scarred by war for some reason or another. First, and probably the most forgivable of humanities many sins, was merely for survival. As you can see I don't have a fur coat like you Equestrians do so you can imagine how even a mild winter could cause problems. Also we don't have magic. My entire home world was like the Everfree, not for our lack of trying to control the weather. But I digress. Most humans stayed in small familial groups for the early part of our history before growing into larger tribal groups that lived a nomadic lifestyle. Then, once the ice sheets that covered most of the planet began to recede, we started to set up permanent settlements. Shortly after this is when war first started to become perfected." I explained before pausing to take a drink.

"Perfect war?" Inkwell asked with a look of disbelief on her face.

"Yes, up until that point, it was wait till they go to sleep, then run up, kill all their men, steal their food, weapons, women and children." I chuckle a bit at the look of shock on her face. "What? In truth there are only five things that any sentient species requires to survive: food, water, shelter, clothing of some sort, and a way to procreate. But as we became less nomadic, the need to find and keep fertile areas was paramount to the different tribes and clans. Still at this time it was a fight for survival. Then things like precious gems and metals began to be discovered. This caused the fighting to move towards controlling those resources." I replied as I moved to stoke the fire.

"How bad did it get?" Inkwell asked as I returned to my chair.

"Pretty bad when it was just greed fueling the fires of war. Cities were sacked, villages burned, those were some rough times to live in. Then came the one thing that has caused more wars than money, land and love. By far they were the worst of all the wars that have ever been wage with one or two exceptions." I replied.

"What could be a worse reason for killing another living thing? I thought that-" Inkwell asked.

"All wars are horrible? They are, trust me I served in one. But the reason that these wars were fought was because of the one thing that no two people could ever agree on. Religion." I reply.

"You mean like what those oddball ponies that are part of the Church of Luna? Inkwell inquired.

I laughed at that. "Similar, but frankly I find the Luna's Witnesses just plain adorable. But for humans Miss Inkwell, we had no living goddesses to advise us, to guide us. Thus numerous religions sprang up. First there were the polytheistic one which had whole pantheons of gods and goddesses for just about everything you could think of. Then eventually those gave way to the various monotheistic religions with one omnipotent, omnipresent, all powerful divine being. The funny thing is, most religions boil down to the same basic ideas. Being a decent, kind, and considerate human being. Yet it is the scriptures used to pass this message on are so different and easily interpreted in ways that can incite the masses into conflict, that the basic message is lost." I replied as I took another sip of tea and sighed. I hated discussing religion when I was on Earth, but having to try and explain it to someone who had never heard of something that could incite rebellion was hell.

"Please just call me Ink. So how is all this relevant to how you came to be in our world?" Ink asked with a light blush on her cheeks.

"Of course, please call me Talisman then. As to why it is relevant, it helps to explain why my world was so chaotic and violent. This brings us to the day that everything in my life changed." I replied.

"Why do you refer to your world in the past tense? Did something happen to it the day that you came here?" Ink asked as she added notes to her now second notepad of the day.

I leaned back into my chair and stared into the fire as I gathered my thoughts.

"The day that I came to Equestria is the day that the Earth burned in nuclear hellfire." I replied finally.

Ink's magic faltered at this dropping her quill and notepad as her teacup and saucer slipped from her hands, thanks to my enhanced reflexes I was able to prevent them from shattering on the floor.

"You-your world burned? How is that possible?" Ink asked with a clearly shaken voice.

"Another thing that you need to understand about humans is that we constantly found new and inventive ways to injure, maim, and kill each other. The greatest and most terrifying of the weapons is the nuclear bomb. A weapon so powerful, it could level nearly all of Manehattan and continue to kill ponies and months for years after the fact." I replied.

"How is that possible?" Ink asked, fear evident in her eyes even if her professionalism stopped the quaver in her voice.

"The nuclear bomb has three main effects. First is the wave of intense heat. The reaction that occurs upon detonation of the device is the same that fuels a star, so you can imagine that it is very, very hot. The ponies from ground zero to a mile or so out, depending upon whether or not there is anything in between them and the blast will be vaporized instantly. They wouldn't even know what happened. Then the massive shockwave of displaced air will first throw anything in its path away from the blast before it all that air comes rushing back towards ground zero, causing the iconic mushroom cloud to form as ash, smoke, and other debris is sucked high into the air. Of course if you managed to survive all that, your life expectancy will have been reduced to hours if you are very, very lucky." I said explaining the effects of those weapons the best I could remember.

"And if you aren't?"

"Then you spend the next few days in excruciating pain as your skin sloughs off and your organs slowly breakdown and fail as your lungs begin to fill with liquid. Radiation is the true killer in these weapons because it lingers for years after the fact and the areas are unsafe for habitation for at least a century. The further away from ground zero you are the better your chances for survival. It is a weapon of terrible power and prior to the day my world was destroyed; it had only been used in anger on two occasions, each within days of the other. The effects gave the world's leaders pause from using them, eventually all testing was banned worldwide." I replied before drink some tea to soothe my throat.

"And the day that you came here, what happened exactly?" Ink inquired her demeanor steady once more.

I smiled. "I remember it clearly. It was a cold and grey January day and I had gone to town to pick up some school supplies for the upcoming term…" 

_A/N: Alright, here is the first chapter of what I hope to be a really good story. Before I get any complaints about the whole HiE thing, I know that these stories are a dime a dozen. I hope that I can set this one apart from the rest. Also if Talisman appears overpowered, it is because he will be slightly. Let's just say that Fate took pity on him and gave him some abilities that could help him protect those that he will come to care for. I look forward to reading the comments section to see some feedback. I will do my best to answer any questions, in an author's note, a reply in the comments section, or in my blog._


	2. From the Ashes of Defeat

_**Of Magic and Steel**_

_From the Ashes of Defeat_

The wind was biting cold as I climbed out of my car in front of the local superstore.

'Damn, it is chilly.' I thought as I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets in an effort to keep them warm. I quickly made my way inside to the warm interior of the store.

I headed over to the stationary aisle and grabbed a couple notebooks as well some lead and eraser refills before heading to the checkout.

As I stood in line, I saw a few airmen from the base just across the highway from the store pull out their cell phones at about the same time. Shrugging, I just figured it was a coincidence until, while I was paying for my purchases, all of them dropped their purchases and bolted for the doors and their vehicles.

'Okay, never seen anything like that while I was in.' I thought as I recalled my time in the military as I walked to my car.

As I reached my car, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. From the base, not even half a mile away, I heard the wail of the sirens that announced an air attack. At first, I thought that maybe they were doing an exercise or just testing the system, but the announcement that played was not one that would follow a test or an exercise scenario.

Then I heard it.

The high-pitched whistle of a warhead cutting through the air. I quickly lifted my head and began searching for it, hoping to see at least a flash of it so I knew the general area of where it would hit. I spotted it, and it was definitely no mortar round.

Time seemed to stop as I spotted the conical shape of a MIRV. My blood froze in the same instant.

'So this is the way the world ends.' I thought as everything moved back to full speed.

Everything was peaceful.

Then a flash of light as a miniature sun was born.

A wave of heat.

Then….

Nothingness.

.

.

.

.

I drifted in that nothingness for who knows how long. As I drifted, knowledge and memories were downloaded into my memory.

Wielding a massive six section sword against monsters of all types.

Casting spells using small glowing orbs the size of marbles.

The feeling of using weapons both familiar and alien.

Facing down men who fancied themselves gods.

Memories of fighting on hostile worlds against insurmountable odds.

Then, there was a feeling of intense pain as a green substance was infused into my body, making me stronger, faster, and more resilient.

Then suddenly, a feeling of cold and wet. The nothingness replaced with a field of white. As I lay there while my senses overloaded, I saw a pair of blurry figures approaching where I lay just as I slipped from consciousness.


	3. Reveille

_**Of Magic and Steel**_

_Reveille _

I wasn't sure how long I was out, but as I slowly came to, I became aware of a gentle pulsing, slightly out of sync with my heartbeat. Through the darkness I saw, just on the edge of my vision, almost imperceptible flashes of…green?

Slowly my awareness began to expand and I began to hear heavily accented voices.

"Is he going to be alright?"

"I think so, he is fine physically, but Celestia knows what his mind looks like."

"Ja."

That final voice made the recognition of the accent click. I was in the care of Russians. Ones that spoke amazingly perfect English, but still Russians. And who in the name of all that is holy is Celestia?

Slowly I opened my eyes, only to shut them again as the light in the room stabbed my retinas like a bunch of rusty ice picks.

I think that I need to rein in my imagination a little bit.

"Owwwwww." I groaned as I slowly brought my hand to my face.

"Ah, he is awake. So how are you feeling my friend?" A gruff male voice asked in that heavy accent.

"Like I got thrown into the Cauldron only to be spit back out." I bit out as I pushed myself into a sitting position.

"Easy now. Here let us help you." A soft female voice said with that same accent as it came close accompanied, strangely, by the clip-clop of hooves.

I shook off the strangeness as two sets of hands, one most definitely male and the other possibly female but both were almost…furry feeling, helped push me up into a sitting position and helped me move to lean back against the headboard of the bed I was in.

Finally, I was able to open my eyes and take in the room I was in. It was fairly Spartan in its furnishings with a dresser, desk, a pair of nightstands, and a table with chairs in addition to the bed that I lay in, all made in a simple but durable design. The walls were the off white that usually accompanied being a hospital.

Of course, most hospitals aren't staffed by anthropomorphic ponies.

To my left there was a white furred anthro with reddish brown hair that consisted her mane. She was wearing a nurse's uniform that I would have to place somewhere in the sixties or seventies. White skirt, white blouse, kind of a beige cardigan sweater, even had one of those little hats with the red cross on it. The other was a tall muscular stallion that had a close cropped black mane with dark grey fur. He was wearing a Russian uniform, an officer's one judging from the shoulder boards. It appeared to be something from before the wall fell in ninety-one.

"It is good to see you awake! How are you doing?" He asked in a boisterous tone.

"Like I'm losing my gorram mind. Anthro ponies. What next? A pretty pink pony princess?" I snarked.

Well, she isn't pink, but if you want to talk to her we could send a letter to the Princess. It would take some time to get a response due to the distance and her rather busy schedule." The female responded.

I looked at her, blinked a couple of times, and face-palmed.

"You're serious aren't you?"

The pair nodded. I sighed. Then I realized something rather important.

"Why the hell am I naked?"

"Well, your clothes were completely soaked. We had to remove them to treat the hyperthermia." The nurse responded.

"Alright, I can deal with that. If they are dry, I would like to have them back. Also, did I have anything else with me when I was found?" I asked as I went through the motions of seeing if everything was attached and in proper working order.

"Yes, there was a rucksack and a rather large sword." The stallion replied.

I raised an eyebrow. "How big is this sword?"

"Well it is almost as long as you are tall and nearly as broad as you shoulders at the hilt" He replied.

My eyes widened in shock. He saw this and chuckled.

"I know. It took two of us just to move it into the barracks. Even now, two weeks later, we have to chase of the young colts who try to use it as a test of stallionhood." He said with a laugh.

I stare at him incredulously, until the nurse hands me a stack of clothing.

"Here you are. I hope that they didn't shrink when they were washed." She said in that accented voice. Now that I had a chance to listen properly, I noticed that while her accent was the same as the stallion's, it wasn't like the Russian accent that most Eastern European women had. It was softer, almost melodic.

"Thank you." I replied as I took the stack from the mare. Then without even thinking about it, I whipped back the covers and stood up.

Normally, I have pretty much zero modesty in my own home. I.e. I walk around the house buck naked. So I didn't realize that I had just flashed the pair until the nurse gasped out an "oh, my sweet Celestia."

I looked at her and followed her gaze down to my groin. Now, last time I looked down there, I was of average endowment for a white guy. Now, however, let's just say that all but the kinkiest of women would run screaming "Aw, hell naw!" when I dropped my pants.

"Huh. Well that's different." I said before shaking out the pants that I had been given.

"What do you mean?" The nurse asked, her blush evident through her fur.

"I was never this…gifted before." I replied as I buttoned my pants and slowly made my way towards then lone mirror in the room.

Once I reach the polished surface, I take in the changes that had happened to me.

My shoulder length brown hair had a few more streaks of silver in it, perfectly natural given what happened.

It appeared that I had gained an inch or two in height, pushing me just past the six foot tall mark.

The two biggest changes were my muscles and my eyes.

My muscles were defined in a way that I had been nowhere close to before the event. It was the definition that you can only achieve by going to the gym, without fail, for at least two hours a day, six days a week.

I sighed, now I'm going to have to really bust my ass to keep this new body up.

My eyes were by far the most startling.

First off, I used to have brown eyes. Used to.

Now I have blue eyes that seem to almost glow with an inner fire.

Check that, they are glowing.

Suddenly, I become aware of the pulsing sensation again. With each pulse the glow in my eyes intensifies. I fall to my knees.

I realize what the pulsing sensation is.

Mako.

The world tilts sideways as I lose consciousness again.


End file.
